Bear Fans, let's take a little stroll back in time. Think about how you felt when the Bears ended their season last year in a way none of us wanted. Think about that December night when we learned about Coach Blackston’s departure. Think about the waiting, the guessing, the wondering who would be chosen to lead the team next, and then how you felt when Coach Crane's name got announced. It has been a lot of emotion for one offseason. Some of it might still be hanging on you a little.
But now we get closer to Friday night. Think about how you will feel when this BHP team takes the field. When they carry those three letters on their chest, wrapped in that Navy and Red just like every Bear before them. For me, the ones that matter, the support and the excitement and the pride, will far outweigh anything left over from the previous months leading to the season. I hope they do for you too, and I hope you let them rain down on this team come Friday, the same way this community has done for decades.
We have talked plenty this offseason about new chapters, echoes and whispers, and a few other metaphors. Now those take a back seat. Now is when the fans from Belton and Honea Path, from Craytonville, from 252, from Princeton Highway, and yes from Brown Avenue and the Mill Hill, all come together for Them Big Bad Bears. And I can't wait.
Scrimmage Review
Before we get to what Friday night might hold, let's look at what BHP's final tune up showed us.
BHP hosted Southside Christian last week in a half game scrimmage, varsity in the first half and JV in the second. Weather pushed it around a bit, but they got it in. And the Bears opened less than impressively. They punted on their first drive, and a bad snap paired with a questionable decision to run out of the end zone handed the Sabers a short field. Southside took advantage and scored on a 3 yard run.
From there the two teams traded punts and turnovers on downs until another bad punt snap gave Southside another short field. This time their back went 28 yards for a score and a 14-0 lead heading into the second quarter. BHP's defense kept answering, stalling the Saber offense on punts and downs, right up until about three minutes were left in the half. Then Southside put together their one real drive of the night, 50 yards on seven plays, and finished it with a 4 yard rushing touchdown.
That was the end of the scoring. Final of 21-0, and I know a score like that can invite a lot of overreaction. I would caution hard against it. Yes, we want Them Bears to win everything they compete in. But this one was a glorified practice, and we have to see it that way. Practice gives you two things worth keeping, a list of stuff to fix and a list of stuff you can lean on. This scrimmage gave us both.
Week 1 Preview
Here we are, Bear Fans. Time to put an offseason most of us would rather forget behind us. New questions hang over this program, but come Friday, some of them start getting answered.
BHP hosts the T.L. Hanna Yellow Jackets in the 27th meeting between these two, and the first since 2021. Over that stretch, both programs have made themselves into two of the most consistent teams in the state. BHP has gone 50-6 across the last four seasons with three straight region titles and back to back Upper State championships. Hanna has gone 38-9 with four consecutive region championships in 4 and 5A. Last year the Yellow Jackets opened with a loss to Byrnes, then reeled off ten straight wins before their season ended in a round three loss to Indian Land, 43-41.
Like BHP, Hanna is plugging in a lot of new faces this fall, especially on offense. A quarterback with fewer than ten career pass attempts, sophomore offensive linemen, and multiple underclassmen carrying the ball. This is an offense still learning to walk together. What they do have is Brock Cole, their leading rusher from a year ago, who ran 94 times for 808 yards, which pencils out to 8.4 a carry. They also bring back a real playmaker in Caden Morrell, who took a kickoff to the house and ripped off an explosive touchdown run in last week's scrimmage against Crescent.
We all know, at least tangentially or theoretically, the kind of headache a Hanna style ground game can become. Now stack multiple backs who are both explosive and physical, and stopping it only gets tougher. And Southside Christian showed just a week ago that BHP can be exploited on the ground in stretches. But with a full week to prepare, I expect this defense to be put in good spots to make big plays. Watch for a few of them to come on third and short and fourth and short. Hanna will not be shy about leaving the offense on the field to keep a drive breathing.
Defense is where I expect Hanna to be at its best this year. They return only a handful from last season, but the talent that came back is high end. It starts with senior linebacker Carson Cole and junior Connor Ash. Cole finished second on the team in total tackles a year ago and looks ready to take a bigger role. He is an instinctive downhill player who can meet a back in the hole but stay athletic enough to run down a receiver in space. Ash slides inside from defensive end to a more central linebacker spot, and his pass rush is the real deal. Last week, coming off the edge from that linebacker alignment, he had a sack and a handful of tackles for loss. He is a true run stopper.
Even with those two, I think Hanna's defensive backs might end up being the stars. They are athletic, they have size, and they can run. They will also fly up to support against the run and turn an outside handoff or a screen into a loss. The one thing working against them is experience. For all their tools, this is a young group in terms of varsity snaps. BHP will have to push those defenders into spots they have not lived in yet and find out how they respond.
For BHP, I see two things that need to improve and two strengths that have to show up if the Bears are going to win this one.
First, put the ball in the air. BHP flashed multiple times last week that it has playmakers who can do damage in the passing game, and I came away impressed with Rylan Crooks and his ability to put the ball mostly where it needed to go. But the drops have to get cleaned up. The Bears dropped several passes that either stalled a possession or buried a drive behind the chains. Again, last week was a glorified practice, even if Southside talked it up to be a little more than that. The upside of practice against a fresh opponent is that it hands you a to do list, and this one is near the top.
Second, Ty Dubose is a stud and he proved it again Friday. Five solo tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack in a single half. One man cannot be a defense, and no unit should ask him to be. But for this group to be as good as it expects to be, Ty has to keep playing at that level, and a run heavy Hanna offense is going to give him plenty of chances to pad the tackle stats.
The last thing to fix is tackling. Southside leaned on a big, powerful back and fed him early and often, and their best plays of the night came after he shook off contact. The Bears were in the right places running the right technique. The finish just was not there. Now, tackling has long been a calling card for BHP defenses, and I have no reason to think that changes this fall. For a lot of these players, last Friday was a first real taste of the lights, even in a scrimmage. The nerves settle. The reps add up.
Friday is a measuring stick for both sides. For Hanna, it is a look at where they stand against one of the top teams in the state, and against an opponent that plans to attack them where they are still soft. For BHP, it is a test of how this team handles change, and maybe a little doubt from the outside. Either way, Them Big Bad Bears are taking the field, and two towns are going to be right there behind them. I expect a hot, sweaty night. I also expect it to be the one Bear Fans have circled all summer.
Previous Matchup: 2021 Week 3
Score: BHP 10 -- T.L. Hanna 43
2021 Week 3 BHP Stats:
Team Rushing: 39 rushes for 198 yards and 1 TDs
Team Passing: 8/16/3 for 56 yards
Team Total: 55 plays for 254 yards and 1 TDs
Rushing Leader: #18 Marquise Henderson - 11 rushes for 91 yards
Passing Leader: #7 AJ Pendleton - 8/16/3 for 53 yards
Receiving Leader: #4 Eli Strickland - 4 receptions for 24 yards
Defensive Leader: #21 Jet Jones - 3 solo, 4 assist, 1 TFL, 1 Pass Breakup
2021 Week 3 T.L. Hanna Offensive Stats:
Team Rushing: 42 rushes for 160 yards and 3 TDs
Team Passing: 7/9/0 for 142 yards and 2 TDs
Team Total: 51 plays for 302 yards and 5 TDs
Rushing Leader: #8 Kamren Johnson - 5 rushes for 41 yards
Passing Leader: #10 Jaylon Dillard - 4/5/0 for 89 yards and 2 TD
Receiving Leaders: #8 Kamren Johnson - 1 reception for 38 yards and 1 TD
Quick Stats
BHP is 8-18 all-time against T.L. Hanna and 4-6 in the last ten meetings.
BHP is 42-18 in season openers all-time.
The last season opener BHP lost was 2012, against Laurens, 20-17.
The last home season opener BHP lost was 2007, against Laurens, 28-14.
BHP is 59-48 all-time in the first season under a new head coach.
BHP is 6-4 all-time in a head coaching debut game.
This senior class carries a 40-4 record with two Upper State championships and three straight region titles.
BHP returns only 15.1 percent of its total offensive yards from last season.
Under Coach Tone, Hanna is 6-1 in season openers and 13-1 coming off a loss.
The last time these two met in a season opener was 1999, a 50-0 BHP win.
Wrap Up
Now, Bear Fans, there are no more words I can put down and no expression left to reach for. We are all ready for this one. We all need this one. This community has stood behind the Bears for a long time, and this Friday is no different. The 2026 campaign starts here, and like I always say, you can't win them all if you don't win the first one.
Prediction: Not This Time
We want to see every Bear Fan packed into those home stands this Friday to support Them Big Bad Bears. If you can't, stay connected and get instant notifications when our posts drop by following us on Facebook and X. We also hope to have live in-game stats at Exceeding Stats this Friday so you can follow along where every you are.
How Bout Them Bears